Rangers Open Playoffs With a Powerhouse Display

There were no jitters. No letdowns. There was a stretch when they were back on their heels, but they survived that hiccup.

The Rangers opened their drive for the Stanley Cup on Thursday night and performed like the powerhouse they were all season. Their scorers scored. Their captain blocked shots, threw body checks and scored. Their goaltender shut down the Ottawa Senators when it mattered most of all.

All these ingredients made for a thorough 4-2 victory at Madison Square Garden to start their first-round series, the first time the Rangers had home ice advantage since 1996.

The crowd was primed for the occasion, cheering through most of the Canadian anthem and thundering through “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Red, white and blue balloons cascaded from the Garden’s upper sections, a longstanding playoff tradition.

For the past 11 playoff series stretching over a decade and a half, Rangers fans supported an underdog. This season, they are squarely behind the Eastern Conference champions, among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup.

Ryan Callahan, Marian Gaborik, Brian Boyle and Brad Richards scored goals as the Rangers built a 4-0 lead. Henrik Lundqvist, shaking off high expectations and recent spotty performances, made 30 saves and held the fort when the Rangers faltered midway through the game. He was not beaten until halfway through the third period, and the other goal he gave up came with less than three minutes remaining.

The Rangers played nearly flawless hockey for most of the first period, spearheaded by Callahan, their inspirational captain.

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Marian Gaborik scored the second goal of the night for the Rangers in the second period.Credit
Barton Silverman/The New York Times

Callahan was playing his first postseason game since 2009. He missed last season’s playoffs with a fractured ankle, and the Rangers fell to Washington in five games in the opening round. In 2010 the Rangers missed the playoffs on the season’s final day.

But on Thursday, Callahan opened the scoring at 12 minutes 1 second. He fought off defenseman Filip Kuba twice, collected the rebound of Anton Stralman’s bouncing shot from the blue line, and curled a shot past Senators goalie Craig Anderson on the short side.

Getting free from Kuba twice on one play is no slight feat; he was plus-26 on the season, 10th best in the N.H.L.

Callahan was not through stamping his mark on the game. Later in the period he jumped into the defense when Ryan McDonagh got caught deep in the Ottawa zone as the Senators counterattacked. Callahan broke up the rush at the red line by stepping into Jesse Winchester and delivering a perfect open-ice hip-and-shoulder check.

His heroics did not go unnoticed. “Cally, Cally,” the fans chanted.

“It was tough last year, not to be with the team in the playoffs after battling and just making it into the playoffs,” Callahan said of last season’s eighth-place Rangers. “And then you have to sit and watch. So it was good to get this first game under my belt.”

Late in the first period and through the first half of the second, the Senators took control of the game. It was still 1-0 for the Rangers, but Ottawa had a 22-11 shooting advantage, and Lundqvist was the main factor keeping the Rangers ahead.

Coach John Tortorella called timeout at 9:51 and told his players to stop dumping the puck to the Senators.

“I told them to stop slapping the puck around,” Tortorella said. “It just looked like they were trying a little bit too hard — we kept giving the puck back to them.”

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The Rangers’ Artem Anisimov pursuing the puck in the second period with Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson sprawled on the ice.Credit
Barton Silverman/The New York Times

The Rangers still were not out of trouble. McDonagh took a tripping penalty at 12:56. But Callahan took over again.

He blocked a shot by Erik Karlsson, then stood in front of another attempt so effectively that Karlsson instead was forced to make an errant pass.

The Rangers survived the penalty without surrendering a shot on goal.

Less than two minutes later, Gaborik, the Rangers’ top scorer in the regular season, got free in the Ottawa end, deked Anderson, and made it 2-0 by slipping the puck between his legs at 16:24.

Callahan almost added an exclamation point 30 seconds later when he bounced the puck off Artem Anisimov’s skate and against the goal post. Callahan was hooked by Kuba, and on the ensuing man advantage Boyle made it 3-0.

“That’s why he’s the captain,” defenseman Dan Girardi said.

Tortorella said, “He does everything for us.”

By this time the Rangers were in total control. Richards, the Rangers’ second leading scorer during the regular season, made it 4-0 early in the third period as the fans roared their approval.

“The home crowd helped, especially me,” said Anisimov, who had two assists and played with continued confidence.

A version of this article appears in print on April 13, 2012, on page B10 of the New York edition with the headline: Rangers Open Playoffs With a Powerhouse Display. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe